Sound designer and recordist Charles Mayne has written a passionate and inspiring guest post for the A Sound Effect blog. He gives his thoughts on the key notions and ideas that affects sound design, and which have the greatest capacity to produce - in his words - great sound design. Check out the article here and contribute to the debate. … [Read more...]
Gordon Hempton on Designing Rain and Thunderstorms
Gordon has followed up his last post on rain and thunder with a look at how to make use of those recordings. All around us we witness the transformative power of weather. Storm-lashed seas shape coastlines. Winds blow sands into dunes. Rivers carve out valleys and canyons. When the weather changes, we notice. Should we hear a single raindrop, we instinctively listen for … [Read more...]
Short Film On Sound Recording
This great short film on sound and the experiences of a sound designer Justin Boyd comes via the Audible Worlds forum. There is fantastic attention to detail here in terms of both the recordings and the process. The film also demonstrates the very personal relationship that we all have to the sound environment, and the individual ways in which sound designers and recordists … [Read more...]
The Dialog Re-Assign Workflow
My first exposure to noise reduction processing was with Waves X-Noise, working clip-by-clip, finding a snippet of noise in the clear, setting the noise profile, then processing the clip before moving to the next one. This offline processing method, while effective, would end up taking a lot of time, especially on long-form projects. Similarly, if you had a processed clip that … [Read more...]
What Is ‘The Most Beautiful Sound In The World’?
BeautifulNow and The Sound Agency are accepting entries for the 'The Most Beautiful Sound in the World'. Anything that encourages people to stop and think about the ecology of sound is a good thing in my book, which is one of the particular appeals of this competition. Simply record your sound, photograph it, and explain why you think it's the most beautiful sound in the … [Read more...]
JordanFehrFX JFFX-04 Interview with Jordan Fehr and Damian Kastbauer
Jordan Fehr and Damian Kastbauer have put out a wonderful sound library together of Buttons, Gear, Equipment and Ambiences. You may recognize Jordan from his work on such wonderful games as: Hotline Miami, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Super Meat Boy and Binding of Isaac. Damian is no stranger to Designing Sound and to the online audio community. He has worked as a … [Read more...]
Considerations for Creative Field Recording
On developing your ear... I purchased my first field recorder in 2010. Ever since it’s become a vital tool in my sound design process. As a result, I now hear the world in a completely different context. I hear a palette of colors, textures, and techniques with which I can capture many weird and wonderful things. Sometimes I record for the sheer joy of it, out of … [Read more...]